Systems and methods for automatically refueling vehicles of customers of a retailer

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, methods and systems are provided for automatically refueling vehicles of authenticated customers of a retailer. After the vehicle driven by an operator is scanned at a refueling station of the retailer and identified as a vehicle associated with an authorized customer of the retailer, the operator and/or the operator&#39;s personal electronic device are scanned in order to verify that the operator of the authenticated vehicle is a customer of the retailer authorized to fill up his/her car at the refueling station of the retailer. When both the vehicle and the operator of the vehicle are authenticated and verified, a vehicle refueling device dispenses gasoline to fill up the gas tank of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/295,855, filed Mar. 7, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/687,439, filed Jun. 20, 2018, each ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to vehicle refueling stations and, inparticular, to refueling stations that automatically refuel vehicles ofcustomers of a retailer.

BACKGROUND

Gas station customers typically fill up their cars with gasoline at gasstations having automated gas pumps by having to get out of their car,sliding their credit card into a slot provided in or near the gas pumps,then selecting the desired grade of gasoline to be dispensed by thepumps, and inserting the dispenser nozzle of the gas pump into the gastank opening of their car. Having to exit one's vehicle to refuel thevehicle with gasoline is not only a time-consuming inconvenience, butmay also be undesirable depending on the neighborhood the gas station isin, the time of day (e.g., night), and the presence of inclement weatherelements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Disclosed herein are embodiments of systems, apparatuses, methods, andsystems pertaining to automatically refueling vehicles of authenticatedcustomers of a retailer. This description includes drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for automatically refueling vehicles ofauthenticated customers of a retailer in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of an exemplary retailer computing deviceusable with the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments;and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram of a process of automatically refuelingvehicles of authenticated customers of a retailer in accordance withsome embodiments.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity andhave not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/orrelative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may beexaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understandingof various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common butwell-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commerciallyfeasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in aparticular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art willunderstand that such specificity with respect to sequence is notactually required. The terms and expressions used herein have theordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressionsby persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above exceptwhere different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but ismade merely for the purpose of describing the general principles ofexemplary embodiments. Reference throughout this specification to “oneembodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,”“in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specificationmay, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, systems and methodsare provided for automatically refueling vehicles of authenticatedcustomers of a retailer.

In some embodiments, a system of automatically refueling vehicles ofauthenticated customers of a retailer comprises a vehicle refuelingstation including at least one refueling device having a gasolinedispenser configured to couple to a vehicle and refuel the vehicle withgasoline; a computing device including a processor-based control unitand configured to communicate with the at least one refueling deviceover a network; a first sensor configured to scan identifyingcharacteristics of the vehicle when the vehicle is located within apredetermined threshold distance from the refueling device, the firstsensor being in communication with the computing device over thenetwork; a second sensor configured to scan identifying characteristicsof an operator of the vehicle located within a predetermined thresholddistance from the refueling device, the second sensor being incommunication with the computing device over the network; and anelectronic database in communication over the network with the computingdevice. The electronic database is configured to store data including:vehicle identification data associated with the customers of theretailer authorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station; andpersonal identification data associated with the customers of theretailer authorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station. Thecontrol unit of the computing device is configured to: analyze theidentifying characteristics of the vehicle scanned by the first sensorand the identifying characteristics of the operator scanned by thesecond sensor in view of the vehicle identification data and thepersonal identification data stored in the electronic database todetermine whether the scanned identifying characteristics of the vehicleand the scanned identifying characteristics of the operator of thevehicle correspond to the vehicle identification data and the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database in associationwith a customer of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehiclerefueling station; and in response to a determination, by the controlunit, that scanned identifying characteristics of the vehicle and thescanned identifying characteristics of the operator obtained during thescanning steps correspond to the vehicle identification data and thepersonal identification data stored in the electronic database inassociation with the customer of the retailer authorized to refuel atthe vehicle refueling station, to: authenticate both the vehicle and theoperator of the vehicle; and transmit a signal to the refueling deviceto activate the refueling device and to cause the refueling device torefuel the authenticated vehicle of the authenticated operator.

In other embodiments, a method of automatically refueling vehicles ofauthenticated customers of a retailer comprises: providing a vehiclerefueling station including at least one refueling device having agasoline dispenser configured to couple to a vehicle and refuel thevehicle with gasoline; providing a computing device including aprocessor-based control unit and configured to communicate with the atleast one refueling device over a network; providing a first sensorconfigured to scan identifying characteristics of the vehicle when thevehicle is located within a predetermined threshold distance from therefueling device, the first sensor being in communication with thecomputing device over the network; providing a second sensor configuredto scan identifying characteristics of an operator of the vehiclelocated within a predetermined threshold distance from the refuelingdevice, the second sensor being in communication with the computingdevice over the network; providing an electronic database incommunication over the network with the computing device. The electronicdatabase is configured to store data including: vehicle identificationdata associated with the customers of the retailer authorized to refuelat the vehicle refueling station; and personal identification dataassociated with the customers of the retailer authorized to refuel atthe vehicle refueling station. The method further includes: scanning,via the first sensor, the identifying characteristics of the vehiclewhen the vehicle is located within a predetermined threshold distancefrom the refueling device; scanning, via the second sensor, theidentifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle when thevehicle is located within a predetermined threshold distance from therefueling device; analyzing, via the computing device, the scannedidentifying characteristics of the vehicle and the scanned identifyingcharacteristics of the operator in view of the vehicle identificationdata and the personal identification data stored in the electronicdatabase, to determine whether the scanned identifying characteristicsof the vehicle and the scanned identifying characteristics of theoperator of the vehicle correspond to the vehicle identification dataand the personal identification data stored in the electronic databasein association with a customer of the retailer authorized to refuel atthe vehicle refueling station. The method includes, in response to adetermination by the computing device that scanned identifyingcharacteristics of the vehicle and the scanned identifyingcharacteristics of the operator obtained during the scanning steps matchthe vehicle identification data and personal identification data storedin the electronic database in association with the customer of theretailer authorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station:authenticating via the computing device both the vehicle and theoperator of the vehicle; and transmitting a signal, from the computingdevice to the refueling device to activate the refueling device and tocause the refueling device to refuel the authenticated vehicle of theauthenticated operator.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system 100 automatically refuelingvehicles 110 of authenticated customers of a retailer at a gas refuelingstation 120 of the retailer. It will be understood that the details ofthis example are intended to serve in an illustrative capacity and arenot necessarily intended to suggest any limitations in regards to thepresent teachings. The retailer may be any entity the provides gasolinerefueling services to customers. A customer may be an individual orbusiness entity. The exemplary system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 includes avehicle refueling station 120 including at least one vehicle refuelingdevice 130 having a gasoline dispenser 142 configured to couple to avehicle 110 and refuel the vehicle 110 with gasoline. The system 100further includes a retailer computing device 150 that includes aprocessor-based control unit and is configured to communicate with therefueling device 130 over a network 115.

The retailer computing device 150 may be a stationary or portableelectronic device, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet, a mobile phone, or any other electronic device including aprocessor-based control circuit (i.e., control unit). For purposes ofthis specification, the term “retailer computing device” will beunderstood to refer to a computing device owned by the retailer or anycomputing device owned and/or operated by an entity (e.g., 3^(rd) partycontractor) having an obligation to provide refueling services on behalfof the retailer to customers of the retailer.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the retailer computing device 150 isconfigured for data entry and processing as well as for communicationwith other devices of system 100 via the network 115. In someembodiments, as will be described below, the retailer computing device150 is configured to access an electronic customer information database160 via the network 115 to facilitate automatic refueling of the vehicle110 of an authenticated customer of the retailer. In the exemplarysystem 100 of FIG. 1, the retailer computing device 150 is in two-waycommunication with the refueling device 130 over the network 115.

For example, in some embodiments, the retailer computing device 150 isconfigured to authenticate the vehicle 110 and the operator of thevehicle 110 by sending a signal over the network 115 to query theelectronic database 160 and obtain, from the electronic database 160both the membership status and the payment information associated withthe operator in the electronic database 160. In some aspects, after theretailer computing device 150 determines that the membership status ofthe operator of the vehicle 110 is valid and that the paymentinformation of the operator is valid, the retailer computing device 150is configured to transmit a signal over the network 115 to the refuelingdevice 130 to activate the refueling device 130.

In other exemplary embodiments, the retailer computing device 150 isconfigured to transmit a query (e.g., a signal) to the electronicdatabase 160 over the network 115 to obtain, from the electronicdatabase 160, gasoline grade preferences predefined by the vehicleoperator (i.e., registered customer of the retailer), as well as thegasoline grade price stored in the electronic database 160 inassociation with a membership status of the operator of the vehicle 110.In some aspects, the retailer computing device 150 is also configured totransmit a signal over the network 115 to the refueling device 130 toactivate the refueling device to dispense (i.e., via the gasolinedispenser 142) the gasoline grade predefined by the operator at thegrade price associated in the electronic database 160 with themembership status of the operator.

In yet another example, the retailer computing device 150 is configuredto receive, over the network 115 from the refueling device 130, a signalindicating an amount of gasoline dispensed by the refueling device 130into the vehicle 110, as well as an amount of money to be charged forthe amount of gasoline dispensed by the refueling device 130 into thevehicle 110. In some aspects, the retailer computing device 150 isconfigured to transmit a signal to the electronic database 160 over thenetwork 115 to debit a payment method of the operator of the vehicle 110stored in the electronic database 160 for the amount of money indicatedin the signal received by the retailer computing device 150 from therefueling device 130. In other aspects, the retailer computing device150 generates a reward credit for the operator of the vehicle 110 forthe money spent by the operator during refueling of the vehicle 110 andtransmits a signal to the electronic database 160 over the network 115to store the generated reward credit in the electronic database 160 inassociation with the data associated with the operator of the vehicle110.

The network 115 may be a wide-area network (WAN), a local area network(LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless local area network(WLAN), Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)network), or any other internet or intranet network, or combinations ofsuch networks. Generally, communication between various electronicdevices of system 100 may take place over hard-wired, cellular, Wi-Fi orBluetooth networked components or the like. In some embodiments, one ormore electronic devices of system 100 may include cloud-based features,such as cloud-based memory storage.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a customerinformation database 160. In some embodiments, the customer informationdatabase 160 may be configured to store information associated withcustomers of the retailer who are signed up to refuel their vehicles 110at one or more gas refueling station 120 of the retailer. In someaspects, the customer information database 160 may store electronicinformation including but not limited to: personal information of eachcustomer of the retailer signed up for the gas refueling servicesprovided by the retailer, for example, customer's name, customer'saddress, identifying characteristics of the customer (e.g. photograph orbiometric facial scan, fingerprint scan, etc.), vehicle identificationdata (e.g., license plate, make and model, color, year, V2X identifier,RFID transponder/digital card or key, Apple Carplay, Android Auto, Wi-Fihotspot, etc.) of one or more vehicles 110 owned by the customer or auser (e.g., family member, friend, employee, etc.) authorized by thecustomer, customer's selected payment method information, customer'sorder history, customer-selected gasoline grade, customer's membershipnumber, customer's membership reward status.

The customer information database 160 may be stored, for example, onnon-volatile storage media (e.g., a hard drive, flash drive, orremovable optical disk) internal or external to the retailer computingdevice 150, or internal or external to computing devices separate anddistinct from the retailer computing device 150. It will be appreciatedthat the customer information database 160 may likewise be cloud-based.While the retailer computing device 150 is illustrated in FIG. 1 asbeing in communication with only one electronic database (i.e., customerinformation database 160), it will be appreciated that the system 100may be implemented such that the system includes two or more separatedatabases.

In some embodiments, when a customer of the retailer initially sets upan online account with the retailer (e.g., by using a personalelectronic device 180 of the user to sign into a website or onlineserver operated by or for the retailer), the system 100 is configured topermit the customer to generate a profile including personal informationof the customer (e.g., name, address, phone number, and the like),identifying characteristics of the customer (e.g. photograph orbiometric facial scan, fingerprint scan, etc.), vehicle identificationdata (e.g., license plate, make and model, color, year, V2X identifier,RFID transponder/digital card or key, Apple Carplay, Android Auto, Wi-Fihotspot, etc.) of one or more vehicles 110 owned by the customer (or auser authorized by the customer), customer's selected payment method(e.g., credit card information), gasoline grade preferred by thecustomer, or the like.

In some embodiments, for example, during the process of signing of for agas refueling accounting with the retailer using the personal electronicdevice 180, the customer can specify a grade of gasoline to be pumpedinto the vehicle 110 of the customer at the refueling station 120. Itwill be appreciated that the customer may select new options and/orupdate previously selected options at any time after setting up theaccount with the retailer. In some embodiments, the personalidentification data of the customer and any vehicle identification dataprovide by the customer are stored in the customer information database160 for subsequent retrieval by the retailer computing device 150 oranother computer/server of the system 100 in communication with theretailer computing device 150 (e.g., in response to a login request bythe customer, or an attempt to refuel a vehicle 110 by the customer).

In some embodiments, the customer is permitted to communicate with theretailer computing device 150 via the personal electronic device 180 ofthe customer, which may be a stationary, portable, and/or hand-heldelectronic device, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, atablet, a mobile phone, or any other electronic, processor-based devicethat may be configured for data entry and communication with theretailer computing device 150 over the network 115. In some embodiments,the personal electronic device 180 of the customer may include aninstalled retailer-associated mobile application (app) configured todisplay various menu options, notifications, and/or alerts for thecustomer in association with the customer refueling his/her vehicle 110at the refueling station 120.

With reference to FIG. 1, the system 100 further includes a vehiclerefueling device 130. While FIG. 1 illustrates the refueling station 120as only including one vehicle refueling device 130, it will beappreciated that the gas refueling station 120 may include two or morevehicle refueling devices 130, for example, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18,20, etc. The exemplary vehicle refueling device 130 of FIG. 1 includesone or more data stores 132, sensors 134, and emitter 136, and agasoline dispenser 142 each in communication with the control circuit138. In some aspects, the gasoline dispenser 142 may include a hose anda nozzle that may be movable (e.g., by a robotic arm) such that a nozzleof the gasoline dispenser 142 is inserted into the gas tank opening. Thegasoline dispenser 142 configured to be activated by the control circuit138 as described in more detail below in order to refuel the vehicle 110of a customer of the retailer.

In some embodiments, the vehicle refueling device 130 of the system 100does not require physical operation by a human operator and wirelesslycommunicates with, and is wholly or largely controlled by, the retailercomputing device 150. For example, the retailer computing device 150 maycontrol actions of the vehicle refueling device 130 in order to refuelthe vehicle 110 of a customer via the gasoline dispenser 142 bytransmitting wireless signals over the network 115 to the vehiclerefueling device 130. In some approaches, the control circuit 138 of thevehicle refueling device 130 is programmed to cause the gasolinedispenser 142 to refuel the vehicle 110 of the customer withoutreceiving remote control signals from the retailer computing device 150.

In some embodiments, the emitter 136 of the vehicle refueling device 130is configured as a two-way transceiver configured to receive signalsfrom and/or signals to the retailer computing device 150 and/or thevehicle 110 of the customer. For example, in some aspects, the emitter136 may be configured to transmit the vehicle identification datascanned by the first sensor 135 to the electronic database 160 forstorage. In some aspects, the emitter 136 may be configured to transmitthe vehicle identification data scanned by the first sensor 135 from thevehicle 110 to the retailer computing device 150 to facilitate theretailer computing device 150 to query the electronic database 160 anddetermine whether the scanned vehicle identification data scanned by thefirst sensor 135 matches the vehicle identification data stored in theelectronic database 160 in association with customers of the retailerauthorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station 120. In otheraspects, the emitter 136 may be configured to transmit the personalidentification data scanned by the second sensor 137 to the retailercomputing device 150 to facilitate the retailer computing device 150 toquery the electronic database 160 and determine whether the personalidentification data of the operator of the vehicle 110 scanned by thefirst sensor 135 matches the personal identification data stored in theelectronic database 160 in association with customers of the retailerauthorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station 120.

In some embodiments, the emitter 136 of the vehicle refueling device 130is configured to transmit, via the network 115, a signal (e.g., to theretailer computing device 150, personal electronic device 180, customerinformation database 160, etc.) including an electronic confirmationthat the vehicle refueling device 130 has successfully filled up thevehicle 110 of the customer with gasoline. In some aspects, such anelectronic confirmation includes an electronic receipt indicating theamount of gasoline dispensed, the total price, the customer's nameand/or membership number, the number of reward points earned as a resultof the fill up, and the like. In certain aspects, such an electronicconfirmation may be transmitted by the emitter 136 to the personalelectronic device 180 of the customer by short message service (SMS)and/or e-mail.

In some configurations, the emitter 136 of the vehicle refueling device130 is configured to receive, via the network 115, one or more signalsfrom the vehicle 110 of the customer including vehicle identificationdata of the vehicle 110 scanned by the first sensor 135 and/or personalidentification data of the operator of the vehicle 110 scanned by thesecond sensor 137. In other aspects, the emitter 136 of the vehiclerefueling device 130 is configured to receive, via the network 115 andfrom the retailer computing device 150, one or more signals that includean electronic confirmation that the vehicle 110 and the operator of thevehicle have been authenticated and/or one or more signals that causethe control circuit 138 to activate the gasoline dispenser 142 and fillup the vehicle 110 of the authenticated operator with gasoline.

The exemplary vehicle refueling device 130 further includes one or moresensors 134. The sensors 134 can include substantially any relevantdevices that provide information to the vehicle refueling device 130 tobe used in refueling the vehicle 110 with gasoline. In some embodiments,the vehicle refueling device 130 may include sensors 134 including oneor more devices that can be used to capture data related to one or moreobjects (e.g., vehicle 110, operator of the vehicle 110, etc.) locatedwithin a threshold distance relative to the vehicle refueling device130. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 134 of the vehiclerefueling device 130 include, but are not limited to, one or moresensors configured to detect movement, one or more distance measurementsensors, one or more sensors capture images and/or video, one or moremicrophones (e.g., which can be configured to capture audibleauthentication codes and/or voice prints, verbal input from customers,verbal inquiries from customers, etc.), one or more biometric (facialscan, fingerprint, etc.) sensors, or a combination of such sensors.

In some embodiments, to facilitate the identification of the vehicle 110of the customer arriving at the refueling station 120, the sensors 134of the vehicle refueling device 130 include a first sensor 135, which isconfigured to scan identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110. Insome embodiments, the first sensor 135 is configured scan a combinationof letters and numbers on a license plate of the vehicle 110. In suchembodiments, the first sensor 135 may be implemented as a digital camera(configured to obtain video and/or photo images of the vehicle 110). Insome embodiments, the first sensor 135 is configured to scan theidentifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 by receivingvehicle-identifying signals (e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) signals,vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) signals, or the like) from one or moretransmitter devices 170 integrally incorporated into or simply presentin the vehicle 110, and configured to transmit, when scanned by thefirst sensor 135, wireless signals uniquely identifying the vehicle 110.Examples of such transmitter devices 170 may include, but are notlimited to V2V device, V2X device, Wifi hotspot, Apple CarPlay, AndroidAuto, or the like.

In certain aspects, the first sensor 135 is configured to scan theidentifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 when the vehicle 110 islocated within a predetermined threshold distance from the refuelingdevice 130. The predetermined distance may be from about 1 foot to about50 feet, for example, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet,15 feet, 20 feet, etc. In some embodiments, the first sensor 135 isconfigured for communication with the retailer computing device 150and/or the electronic database 160 over the network 115, such that thefirst sensor 135 may transmit the identifying characteristics of thevehicle 110 scanned by the first sensor 135 over the network 115 to theretailer computing device 150 and/or electronic database 160. Forexample, in some aspects, the first sensor 135 is configured totransmit, via the emitter 136, sensor data including the combination ofletters and/or numbers detected by the sensor 136 on the license plateof the vehicle 110 to the retailer computing device 150, enabling theretailer computing device 150 to authenticate the vehicle 110 based onthe received sensor data. In some implementations, the vehicle refuelingdevice 130 does not depend on the retailer computing device 150 toauthenticate the vehicle 110 and the first sensor 135 is configured totransmit the sensor data including the combination of letters and/ornumbers detected by the sensor 136 on the license plate of the vehicle110 to the control circuit 138 of the vehicle refueling device 130,enabling the control circuit 138 to authenticate the vehicle 110 basedon the received sensor data.

In some embodiments, to facilitate the identification of the operator ofthe vehicle 110 arriving at the refueling station 120, the sensors 134of the vehicle refueling device 130 include a second sensor 137configured to scan the identifying characteristics of an operator of thevehicle 110. For example, the second sensor 137 may be configured toscan identifying characteristics such as physical attributes of theoperator including but not limited to a face of the operator of thevehicle 110, a fingerprint of the operator of the vehicle 110, or thelike. In some aspects, the second sensor 137 may be configured to scanidentifying characteristics not limited to physical attributes of theoperator, but including personal electronic devices 180 associated withthe operator of the vehicle 110 and configured to transmit a signal thatuniquely identifies the personal electronic device 180 of the operatorof the vehicle 110. One advantage of the ability of the second sensor137 to identify the actual operator of the vehicle includes preventing aperson who is not a registered customer of the retailer from obtaininggasoline from the refueling station 120 even when such a person isoperating the vehicle 110 known to the system 100 to be associated withan authorized customer.

In certain aspects, the second sensor 137 is configured to scan theidentifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110 when thevehicle 110 is located within a predetermined threshold distance fromthe refueling device 130. The predetermined distance may be from about 1foot to about 50 feet, for example, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, 6feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, etc. In certain aspects, the secondsensor 137 is configured to detect a wireless signal (including anidentifier unique to a retailer-associated mobile application (app)installed on the personal electronic device 180) from the personalelectronic device 180 of the operator of the vehicle 110 in order tofacilitate an identification of the operator of the vehicle 110. In someaspects, the second sensor 137 is configured to communicate with theretailer computing device 150 and/or electronic database 160 over thenetwork 115, such that the second sensor 137 may transmit theidentifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110 scannedby the second sensor 137 to the retailer computing device 150 and/orelectronic database 160.

In some embodiments, instead of the first sensor 135 and the secondsensor 137 being continuously activated and drawing electrical power,the sensors 314 of the vehicle refueling device 130 include a thirdsensor 139 configured to detect a presence of the vehicle 110 when thevehicle 110 is located within a predetermined threshold distance fromthe refueling device 130. The predetermined distance may be from about 1foot to about 50 feet, for example, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, 6feet, 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, etc. In some aspects, the first sensor135 and the second sensor 137 are in a low-power or off state until thethird sensor 139 detects the presence of the vehicle 110 at therefueling station 120 and within a predetermined threshold distance fromthe refueling device 130, and causes the first sensor 135 and the secondsensor 137 to be activated (e.g., directly by the third sensor 139, orby the third sensor 139 via the control circuit 138).

In some embodiments, the emitter 136 of the vehicle refueling device 130is a wired or a wireless transceiver configured to convey information,notifications, and/or warnings to a customer (e.g., operator of thevehicle 110) and/or a worker at the vehicle refueling station 120 and/ora worker of the retailer in a location remote to the vehicle refuelingstation 120. In some aspects, the emitter 116 comprises one or moreoutput devices (e.g., speakers, displays, lights, etc.) that conveytext, audio, and/or visual signals. Similarly, the emitter 116 mayadditionally or alternatively be configured to facilitate wireless datacommunications with a computing device, including but not limited to,retailer computing device 150.

In some embodiments, one or more data stores 132 of the vehiclerefueling device 130 provide an information repository that storesprograms 144 and files 146. The vehicle refueling device 130 may, insome embodiments, further access one or more programs 144, files 146,and/or other relevant information external to the vehicle refuelingdevice 130 and accessible via the network 115. The files 146 can includeinformation transmitted by the retailer computing device 150, datacaptured by the sensors 134 (e.g., vehicle identification data, personalidentification data, etc.) customer information and preferences,gasoline price information, historical customer order information,and/or other such information. In some aspects, the files 146 canfurther include one or more salutations and/or advertisements that maybe displayed to the customer while the vehicle refueling device 130 isrefueling the vehicle 110. In some embodiments, the vehicle refuelingdevice 130 may be configured such that the advertisements arepersonalized using the customer's specific information to increase theinterest of the customer.

In the illustrated embodiment, the vehicle refueling device 130 includesprograms 146 that are stored in the data store 132 and/or other memory,and utilized at least by the control circuit 138. In some applications,one or more of the programs 146 represents software executed by thecontrol circuit 138 to facilitate the operation, control, commercialactivity, interaction with customers, and the like for the vehiclerefueling device 130. For example, in some aspects, the control circuit118, in executing one or more programs 144, can: use the data acquiredand/or generated by the sensors 134 to detect when vehicles 110 and/orcustomers are located within a threshold distance relative to thevehicle refueling device 130; generate notifications in response todetecting the presence of the vehicles 110 and/or customers; generatenotifications in response to receiving control signals from the retailercomputing device 150; and generate notifications in response tocompleting the fill up of the vehicle 110 of the customer with gasoline.In some embodiments, the control circuit 138, in executing one or moreprograms 146, can generate one or more types of biometric data (facialscan, fingerprint scan, etc.) using information captured via the sensors134, and determine whether the generated biometric data has one or morethreshold relationships to predetermined biometric data included infiles 146, such that the generated biometric data having thresholdrelationships identify the operators of the vehicles 110 as authorizedcustomers of the retailer, and such that the data lacking the thresholdrelationships identify unknown/unauthorized operators.

With reference to FIG. 2, an exemplary retailer computing device 150configured for use with the systems and methods described herein mayinclude a control circuit or control unit 210 including a processor (forexample, a microprocessor or a microcontroller) electrically coupled viaa connection 215 to a memory 220 and via a connection 225 to a powersupply 230. The control unit 210 can comprise a fixed-purpose hard-wiredplatform or can comprise a partially or wholly programmable platform,such as a microcontroller, an application specification integratedcircuit, a field programmable gate array, and so on. These architecturaloptions are well known and understood in the art and require no furtherdescription here.

The control unit 210 of the retailer computing device 150 can beconfigured (for example, by using corresponding programming stored inthe memory 220 as will be well understood by those skilled in the art)to carry out one or more of the steps, actions, and/or functionsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the memory 220 may be integral tothe processor-based control unit 210 or can be physically discrete (inwhole or in part) from the control unit 210 and is configurednon-transitorily store the computer instructions that, when executed bythe control unit 210, cause the control unit 210 to behave as describedherein. (As used herein, this reference to “non-transitorily” will beunderstood to refer to a non-ephemeral state for the stored contents(and hence excludes when the stored contents merely constitute signalsor waves) rather than volatility of the storage media itself and henceincludes both non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM)) aswell as volatile memory (such as an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM))). Thus, the memory and/or the control unit may bereferred to as a non-transitory medium or non-transitory computerreadable medium.

The control unit 210 of the retailer computing device 150 is alsoelectrically coupled via a connection 235 to an input/output 240 thatcan receive signals from the vehicle refueling device 130 and/or fromthe customer information database 160, or from any other source (e.g.,personal electronic device 180) that can communicate with the retailercomputing device 150 via a wired or wireless connection. Theinput/output 240 of the retailer computing device 150 can also sendsignals to the vehicle refueling device 130 (e.g., control signalconfirming authentication of the vehicle 110 and the operator of thevehicle 110 as an authorized customer of the retailer), or to any otherdevice (e.g., customer information database 160, personal electronicdevice 180, etc.) in wired or wireless communication with the retailercomputing device 150.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the processor-based control unit 210of the retailer computing device 150 is electrically coupled via aconnection 245 to a user interface 250, which may include a visualdisplay or display screen 260 (e.g., LED screen) and/or button input 270that provide the user interface 250 with the ability to permit anoperator of the retailer computing device 150 to manually control theretailer computing device 150 by inputting commands via touch-screenand/or button operation and/or voice commands to, for example, to sendcontrol signals to the vehicle refueling device 130 and/or communicatewith the operator of the vehicle 110 located at the vehicle refuelingstation 120. It will be appreciated that the performance of suchfunctions by the processor-based control unit 210 of the retailercomputing device 150 is not dependent on a human operator, and that thecontrol unit 210 may be programmed to perform such functions without ahuman operator.

In some embodiments, the display screen 260 of retailer computing device150 is configured to display various graphical interface-based menus,options, and/or alerts that may be transmitted to the retailer computingdevice 150 and displayed on the display screen 260 in connection withvarious aspects of the new customer sign-up and/or actual fill up by thecustomer at the vehicle refueling station 120. The inputs 270 of theretailer computing device 150 may be configured to permit an operator tonavigate through the on-screen menus on the retailer computing device150 and make changes and/or updates to various aspects of the account ofthe customer (e.g., update the reward points in response to an amountspent for gasoline fill up). It will be appreciated that the displayscreen 260 may be configured as both a display screen and an input 270(e.g., a touch-screen that permits an operator to press on the displayscreen 260 to enter text and/or execute commands.)

In some aspects, after the retailer computing device 150 receives theidentifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 and the identifyingcharacteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110 scanned by the firstsensor 135 and the second sensor 137, respectively, of the vehiclerefueling device 130, the control circuit 210 of the retailer computingdevice 150 is programmed to transmit a signal over the network 115 toquery the electronic database 160 and obtain the vehicle identificationdata and the personal identification data stored in the electronicdatabase 160 in association with customers of the retailer authorized torefuel at the vehicle refueling station 120 in order to determinewhether there is a match between the scanned data and the storedauthentication data. In one aspect, the control circuit 210 isprogrammed to analyze the identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110scanned by the first sensor 135 and the identifying characteristics ofthe operator of the vehicle 110 scanned by the second sensor 137 in viewof the vehicle identification data and personal identification datastored in the electronic database 160.

The above analysis enables the control circuit 210 to determine whetherthe scanned identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 and thescanned identifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110correspond to the vehicle identification data and the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database 160 in associationwith a customer of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehiclerefueling station 120. In one aspect, after the control unit 210determines that both scanned identifying characteristics of the vehicle110 and the scanned identifying characteristics of the operator obtainedby the first and second sensors 135 and 137 correspond to the vehicleidentification data and the personal identification data stored in theelectronic database 160 in association with an authorized customer ofthe retailer, the control unit 210 authenticates both the vehicle 110and the operator of the vehicle 110. The control unit 210 then transmitsa signal to the refueling device 130, thereby activating the refuelingdevice 130 and causing the refueling device 130 to refuel theauthenticated vehicle 110 of the authenticated operator. In someaspects, after the control unit 210 determines that both the scannedidentifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 and the scannedidentifying characteristics of the operator obtained by the first andsecond sensors 135 and 137 match the vehicle identification data and thepersonal identification data stored in the electronic database 160 inassociation with an authorized customer of the retailer, the controlunit 210 transmits a control signal to the refueling device 130, therebycausing the control circuit 138 of the refueling device 130 to activatethe gasoline dispenser 142, which then refuels the authenticated vehicle110 of the authenticated operator.

In some embodiments, the control circuit 210 of the retailer computingdevice 150 is programmed to generate customer alerts/notification inconnection with the customer's actions at the refueling station 120. Thecustomer alerts may be generated by the retailer computing device 150based on information received from the vehicle refueling device 130. Insome aspects, the customer alerts may be transmitted from the retailercomputing device 150 via the network 115 to the personal electronicdevice 180 of the customer. For example, the retailer computing device150 may transmit a signal over the network 115 to the personalelectronic device 180 including a notification including a receipt forthe customer's gasoline fill up at the refueling station 120, or analert indicating that the vehicle refueling device 130 was unable tosuccessfully refuel the vehicle 110. In some embodiments, customeralerts sent to the personal electronic device 180 of the customer mayinclude but are not limited to short message service (SMS) messages,electronic mail (e-mail) messages, instant messenger messages, and/orpush notifications (to a mobile app on the personal electronic device180 of the customer).

In some aspects, the control circuit 210 of the retailer computingdevice 150 is programmed to assign reward points to the account of thecustomer after the customer has filled up his/her vehicle 110 at thevehicle refueling station 120. For example, in one aspect, after thesale of gasoline to the customer is complete, the control circuit 210 isprogrammed to transmit an electronic notification to the electronicdatabase 160 instructing the electronic database 160 to update (i.e.,increase) the number of reward points associated in the electronicdatabase 160 with the account of the customer by an amount appropriate(e.g., one point per one dollar, two points per one dollar, three pointsper one dollar, etc.) for the amount of money spent by the customer onfilling up his/her vehicle at the refueling station 120.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of an exemplary method 300 of automaticallyrefueling vehicles 110 of authenticated customers of a retailer. Theembodiment of the method 300 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes providing avehicle refueling station 120 including at least one refueling device130 having a gasoline dispenser 142 configured to couple to a vehicle110 and refuel the vehicle with gasoline (step 310). The illustratedmethod 300 also includes providing a retailer computing device 150including a processor-based control unit 210 and configured tocommunicate with the refueling device 130 over a network 115 (step 320).

As discussed above, in some embodiments, the refueling device 130 isconfigured to identify both the vehicle 110 and the operator of thevehicle 110 that enter the vehicle refueling station 120. To that end,the illustrated method 300 includes providing a first sensor 135configured to scan identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 whenthe vehicle 110 is located within a predetermined threshold distancefrom the refueling device 130 (step 330) and providing a second sensor137 configured to scan identifying characteristics of an operator of thevehicle 110 located within a predetermined threshold distance from therefueling device 130 (step 340). It will be appreciated that, in someaspects, the sensors that are configured to scan the identifyingcharacteristics of the vehicle 110 and/or the operator of the vehicle110 may be implemented as devices that are not integrated into thestructure of the refueling device 130, but as devices that are mountedon a horizontal or vertical support somewhere else at the vehiclerefueling station 120.

As mentioned above, in some aspects, each of the first and secondsensors 135, 137 is configured for communication with the retailercomputing device 150 over the network 115, which enables the first andsecond sensors 135, 137 to transmit all scan data acquired by the firstand second sensors 135, 137 to one or more devices separate and distinctfrom the refueling device 130, for example, to the retailer computingdevice 150 and/or the electronic database 160. To that end, the method300 includes providing an electronic database 160 in communication overthe network 115 with the retailer computing device 150 (step 350). Asdiscussed above, in some embodiments, the electronic database 160 storesdata including, but not limited to vehicle identification dataassociated with the customers of the retailer authorized to refuel atthe vehicle refueling station 120, and personal identification dataassociated with the customers of the retailer authorized to refuel atthe vehicle refueling station 120.

In some embodiments, when a vehicle 110 enters the vehicle refuelingstation 120 and travels to within a predetermined threshold distance(e.g., 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet, etc.) from anavailable refueling device 130, the first sensor 135 scans the vehicle110 in order to obtain the identifying characteristics of the vehicle110 that are used in the method 300 to authenticate the vehicle 110. Tothat end, the method 300 includes scanning, via the first sensor 135,the identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 when the vehicle 110is located within a predetermined threshold distance from the refuelingdevice 130 (step 360).

In some aspects, the first sensor 135 scans a combination of letters andnumbers on a license plate of the vehicle 110 by, for example, snappinga digital photograph and generating a digital image of the license plateof the vehicle 110. In one aspect, such a digital image is sent to anoptical character recognition module (which may be embedded into theretailer computing device 150 and/or the refueling device 130)configured to decode the digital image and extract the numbers/letterson the licensed plate from the image. In some embodiments, instead ofscanning the license plate of the vehicle 110, the first sensor 135scans the identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 by receivingvehicle-identifying signals from one or more transmitter devices 170(e.g., V2V device, V2X device, RFID transponder/digital card, Wifihotspot, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or the like) integrallyincorporated into or otherwise located in (or mounted on) the vehicle110, and configured to transmit, when scanned by the first sensor 135,wireless signals uniquely identifying the vehicle 110.

As discussed above, in addition to scanning the vehicle 110 that hasentered the vehicle refueling station 120 and moved within apredetermined threshold distance (e.g., 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet,6 feet, 10 feet, etc.) from an available refueling device 130, thesecond sensor 137 scans the operator of the vehicle 110 in order toobtain the identifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle110 that are used in the method 300 to authenticate the operator of thevehicle 110. To that end, the method 300 includes scanning, via thesecond sensor 137, the identifying characteristics of the operator ofthe vehicle 110 when the vehicle 110 is located within a predeterminedthreshold distance from the refueling device 130 (step 370). In someaspects, the second sensor 137 scans the face of the operator of thevehicle 110. The scan may include but is not limited to a digital stillimage, a digital moving image, a biometric scan, or the like. In anotheraspect, the second sensor 137 may scan the finger of the operator. Inyet another aspect, the second sensor 137 may scan a phrase spoken bythe operator of the vehicle 110 to acquire the voice pattern of theoperator of the vehicle 110 and/or the verbal phrase (e.g., password)spoken by the operator of the vehicle 110. In one aspect, the secondsensor 137 scans for wireless signals uniquely identifying the personalelectronic device 180 of the operator.

After the first sensor 135 acquires vehicle identification data byscanning the vehicle 110 and after the second sensor 137 acquirespersonal identification data by scanning the operator of the vehicle110, the next step is to verify that the acquired vehicle identificationdata and the personal identification data match the vehicleidentification data and personal identification data predefined byauthorized customers of the retailer when setting up an account with theretailer. To that end, the exemplary method 300 of FIG. 3 includesanalyzing, via the retailer computing device 150, the scannedidentifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 and the scannedidentifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110 in viewof the vehicle identification data and the personal identification datastored in the electronic database 160 (step 380). This analysis enablesthe retailer computing device 150 to determine whether the scannedidentifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 and the scannedidentifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110correspond to (i.e., match) the vehicle identification data and thepersonal identification data stored in the electronic database 160 inassociation with a customer of the retailer authorized to refuel at thevehicle refueling station 120.

Notably, as discussed above, in some embodiments, the analysis of thescanned identifying characteristics of the vehicle 110 and the scannedidentifying characteristics of the operator of the vehicle 110 in viewof the vehicle identification data and the personal identification datastored in the electronic database 160 is not performed by the controlcircuit 210 of the retailer computing device 150, but is insteadperformed by the control circuit 138 of the refueling device 130. Assuch, in some aspects, the authentication of the vehicle 110 and theoperator of the vehicle 110 is performed by the refueling device 130without having to communicate over the network 115 with the retailercomputing device 150, or having to rely on the retailer computing device150 to query the electronic database 160 in order to authenticate thevehicle 110 and the operator of the vehicle 110.

In some embodiments, in response to a determination by the retailercomputing device 150 that scanned identifying characteristics of thevehicle 110 and the scanned identifying characteristics of the operatorof the vehicle 110 obtained during the aforementioned scanning stepscorrespond to the vehicle identification data and the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database 160 in associationwith the customer of the retailer who is authorized to refuel at thevehicle refueling station 120, the method 300 further includesauthenticating via the retailer computing device 150 both the vehicle110 and the operator of the vehicle 110 (step 390). Again, as discussedabove, in some embodiments, this determination is not performed by thecontrol circuit 210 of the retailer computing device 150, but is insteadperformed by the control circuit 138 of the refueling device 130. Assuch, in some aspects, the authentication of the scanned vehicle 110 andthe operator of that vehicle 110 is performed by the refueling device130 without having to communicate over the network 115 with the retailercomputing device 150, or having to rely on the retailer computing device150 to make the authentication determination with respect to the vehicle110 and the operator of the vehicle 110.

In some implementations, after the operator of the vehicle 110 isidentified and authenticated as a customer of the retailer who isauthorized (e.g., has a membership account, subscription, etc.) to fillup at the refueling station 120 of the retailer, the retailer computingdevice 150 transmits a signal over the network 115 to the electronicdatabase 160 to query the electronic database 160 regarding themembership status of the customer. If the membership status of thecustomer is expired, the retailer computing device 150 may transmit anotification to the personal electronic device 180 of the customer inorder to prompt the customer to renew the membership with the purchaseof the gasoline at the refueling station 120.

In some embodiments, after the operator of the vehicle 110 is identifiedand authenticated as a customer of the retailer who is authorized tofill up at the refueling station 120 of the retailer, the retailercomputing device 150 transmits a signal over the network 115 to theelectronic database 160 to query the electronic database 160 regardingthe payment information (e.g., credit card information, bank accountinformation, etc.) stored in the electronic database 160 in associationwith the customer. If the electronic database 160 does not include apayment method (or if the customer-predefined payment method hasexpired), in some aspects, the retailer computing device 150 maytransmit a notification to the personal electronic device 180 of thecustomer in order to prompt the customer to enter new paymentinformation in order to enable the customer to complete a purchase ofgasoline at the refueling station 120. In one aspect, to provideadditional security, after the retailer computing device 150 acquiresthe payment method (e.g., credit card, debit card, etc.) of the customerfrom the electronic database 160, the retailer computing device 150 maytransmit a notification to the personal electronic device 180 of thecustomer in order to prompt the customer to enter an additionalverification code (e.g., zip code, pin number, etc.) directly into thepersonal electronic device 180 of the customer in order to authorize theretailer computing device 150 to charge the acquired payment method forthe customer's fill up of the vehicle 110 at the refueling station 120.Notably, in some embodiments, the vehicle 110 includes a V2X device, andthe retailer computing device 150 transmits a notification to the V2Xdevice in the vehicle 110 in order to prompt the customer to enter anadditional verification code (e.g., zip code, pin number, etc.) directlyusing the V2X device in order to authorize the retailer computing device150 to charge the acquired payment method for the customer's fill up ofthe vehicle 110 at the refueling station 120.

In some embodiments, after the operator of the vehicle 110 is identifiedand authenticated as a customer of the retailer who is authorized tofill up at the refueling station 120 of the retailer, and after theretailer computing device 150 verifies that the authorized customer hasa valid form of payment stored in the electronic database 160, theretailer computing device 150 transmits an activation signal over thenetwork 115 to the refueling device 130. To that end, the exemplarymethod 300 of FIG. 3 includes transmitting a signal, from the retailercomputing device 150 to the refueling device 130, in order to activatethe refueling device 130 and to cause the refueling device 130 to refuelthe authenticated vehicle 110 of the authenticated operator (step 395).For example, in one aspect, the retailer computing device 150 transmitsan activation signal to the vehicle refueling device 130, which whenprocessed by the control circuit 138 of the vehicle refueling device130, causes the control circuit 138 to activate the gasoline dispenser142 to refuel the vehicle 110 of the customer.

In some aspects, after both the vehicle 110 and the operator of thevehicle 110 are authenticated, the retailer computing device 150transmits a signal over the network 115 to the electronic database 160to obtain from the electronic database 160 the gasoline gradepreferences (e.g., 87, 89, 91, 92, 93 octane, diesel, etc.) predefinedby the vehicle operator when setting up an account. In one aspect, theretailer computing device 150 transmits a signal over the network 115 tothe electronic database 160 to obtain from the electronic database 160the membership status (e.g., regular, gold, platinum, etc.) of thecustomer, and the price of gasoline to be provided to the customer basedon the customer's membership status. In some aspects, the retailercomputing device 150 transmits a signal over the network 115 to therefueling device 130 to activate the refueling device 130 to dispense(via the gasoline dispenser 142) the gasoline grade predefined by theoperator (based on the information obtained from the electronic database160) at the grade price associated in the electronic database 160 withthe membership status of the operator.

In some embodiments, after the refueling device 130 refuels the vehicle110 of the customer, the refueling device 130 transmits a notificationover the network 115 to the retailer computing device 150 indicating howmuch gasoline was dispensed and the total price of the dispensedgasoline. After receiving this notification, the retailer computingdevice 150 generates and transmits, to the personal electronic device180 of the customer, an electronic notification including a receiptindicating the amount of gas dispensed and the amount of money debitedfrom the customer's predefined payment information. In some aspects, theretailer computing device 150 assigns reward points to the account ofthe customer after the customer has filled up his/her vehicle 110 at thevehicle refueling station 120. For example, in one aspect, after thesale of gasoline to the customer is complete, the retailer computingdevice 150 transmits an electronic notification to the electronicdatabase 160 instructing the electronic database 160 to update (i.e.,increase) the number of reward points associated in the electronicdatabase 160 with the account of the customer by an amount appropriate(e.g., one point per one dollar, two points per one dollar, three pointsper one dollar, etc.) for the amount of money spent by the customer onfilling up his/her vehicle at the refueling station 120.

The systems and methods described herein advantageously allow authorizedcustomers of the retailer to fill up with gasoline without having to getout of their cars, providing an added convenience for the customers,which may attract more customers to the vehicle refueling stations ofthe retailer. Since the systems and methods described hereinauthenticate both the vehicle and the operator of the vehicle, theability of unauthorized persons to fill up at the vehicle refuelingstations of the retailer at the expense of the authorized customer, evenwhen driving the vehicle of the customer, is advantageously reducedand/or eliminated.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of othermodifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made withrespect to the above described embodiments without departing from thescope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system of automatically refueling vehicles ofauthenticated customers having a membership with a retailer, the systemcomprising: a vehicle refueling station including at least one refuelingdevice having a gasoline dispenser configured to couple to a vehicle andrefuel the vehicle with gasoline; a computing device including aprocessor-based control unit and configured to communicate with the atleast one refueling device over a network; a first sensor configured toscan identifying characteristics of an operator of the vehicle, thesecond sensor being in communication with the computing device over thenetwork; an electronic database in communication over the network withthe computing device, the electronic database being configured to storedata including: personal identification data associated with thecustomers of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehicle refuelingstation; wherein the control unit of the computing device is configuredto: analyze the identifying characteristics of the operator scanned bythe first sensor in view of the personal identification data stored inthe electronic database to determine whether the scanned identifyingcharacteristics of the operator of the vehicle correspond to thepersonal identification data stored in the electronic database inassociation with a customer of the retailer authorized to refuel at thevehicle refueling station; in response to a determination, by thecontrol unit, that the scanned identifying characteristics of theoperator correspond to the personal identification data stored in theelectronic database in association with the customer of the retailerauthorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station, to: query theelectronic database over the network to obtain membership status of theoperator; in response to a determination by the control unit that themembership status of the operator is expired, transmit a notificationsignal from the computing device to a personal electronic device of theoperator to permit the operator of the vehicle to renew the membershipstatus via the personal electronic device by paying a membership fee; inresponse to a determination by the control unit that the membershipstatus of the operator is valid, query the electronic database to obtainpayment information of the operator; and in response to a determinationby the control unit that the payment information of the operator isvalid to cover a refuel of the vehicle of the operator, transmit asignal from the computing device to the refueling device to activate therefueling device and refuel the vehicle of the operator.
 2. The systemof claim 1, further comprising a second sensor configured to detect apresence of the vehicle when the vehicle is located within apredetermined threshold distance from the refueling device, wherein thefirst sensor is configured to be activated in response to a detection bythe second sensor of the vehicle located within a predeterminedthreshold distance from the refueling device.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the first sensor is configured to: scan a face of the operatorof the vehicle; detect a verbal password spoken by the operator of thevehicle; and receive a signal from a personal electronic device of theoperator of the vehicle that uniquely identifies the personal electronicdevice of the operator of the vehicle.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein: the first sensor is configured to transmit over the network tothe computing device, the identifying characteristics of the operatorscanned by the first sensor; the computing device is configured to querythe electronic database over the network, to obtain the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database in associationwith customers of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehiclerefueling station; and the computing device is configured toauthenticate the operator scanned by the first sensor in response to adetermination by the computing device that the scanned identifyingcharacteristics of the scanned operator correspond to the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database in associationwith the customer of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehiclerefueling station.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computingdevice is further configured to: query the electronic database over thenetwork to obtain both gasoline grade preferences predefined by theoperator and stored in the electronic database and gasoline grade pricestored in the electronic database in association with the membershipstatus of the operator; and transmit a signal to the refueling device toactivate the refueling device to dispense the gasoline grade predefinedby the operator at the grade price associated in the electronic databasewith the membership status of the operator.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the computing device is further configured to: receive a signalfrom the refueling device over the network, the received signalindicating an amount of gasoline dispensed by the refueling device intothe vehicle and an amount of money corresponding to the amount ofgasoline dispensed by the refueling device into the vehicle; andtransmit a signal to the electronic database over the network to debitthe payment information of the operator stored in the electronicdatabase for the amount of money indicated in the signal received by thecomputing device from the refueling device.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the computing device is further configured to: generate a rewardcredit for the operator for the amount of money spent by the operatorduring refueling of the vehicle of the operator at the vehicle refuelingstation of the retailer; and transmit a signal to the electronicdatabase to store the generated reward credit in the electronic databasein association with the identifying characteristics of the operator. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein: in response to the query, the computingdevice receives information indicating that the membership status of theoperator is that the operator is not a member with the retailer,transmit a notification signal from the computing device to a personalelectronic device of the operator to permit the operator of the vehicleto purchase a new membership via the personal electronic device bypaying a membership fee; in response to a determination by the controlunit that the operator purchased a new membership, permit the operatorto add the payment information of the operator to cover a refuel of thevehicle of the operator by the refueling device.
 9. The system of claim1, wherein the at least one refueling device is configured to remove acap covering a fuel tank of the vehicle of the operator, to move anozzle of the at least one refueling device into an opening of the fueltank, and to return the cap to a position covering the fuel tank of thevehicle of the operator.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein, in responseto a determination by the control unit that the refueling devicecompleted refueling the vehicle of the operator, transmit an electronicnotification from the computing device to the personal electronic deviceof the operator the electronic notification including a receipt for therefueling of the vehicle of the operator.
 11. A method of automaticallyrefueling vehicles of authenticated customers having a membership with aretailer, the method comprising: providing a vehicle refueling stationincluding at least one refueling device having a gasoline dispenserconfigured to couple to a vehicle and refuel the vehicle with gasoline;providing a computing device including a processor-based control unitand configured to communicate with the at least one refueling deviceover a network; providing a first sensor configured to scan identifyingcharacteristics of an operator of the vehicle, the second sensor beingin communication with the computing device over the network; providingan electronic database in communication over the network with thecomputing device, the electronic database being configured to store dataincluding personal identification data associated with the customers ofthe retailer authorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station;analyzing, via the control unit, the identifying characteristics of theoperator scanned by the first sensor in view of the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database to determinewhether the scanned identifying characteristics of the operator of thevehicle correspond to the personal identification data stored in theelectronic database in association with a customer of the retailerauthorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station; in response to adetermination, by the control unit, that the scanned identifyingcharacteristics of the operator correspond to the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database in associationwith the customer of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehiclerefueling station, querying the electronic database over the network toobtain membership status of the operator; in response to a determinationby the control unit that the membership status of the operator isexpired, transmitting, from the computing device, a notification signalto a personal electronic device of the operator to permit the operatorof the vehicle to renew the membership status via the personalelectronic device by paying a membership fee; in response to adetermination by the control unit, that the membership status of theoperator is valid, querying the electronic database to obtain paymentinformation of the operator; and in response to a determination by thecontrol unit that the payment information of the operator is valid tocover a refuel of the vehicle of the operator, transmitting from thecomputing device a signal to the refueling device to activate therefueling device and refuel the vehicle of the operator.
 12. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: providing a second sensor configured todetect a presence of the vehicle when the vehicle is located within apredetermined threshold distance from the refueling device; andactivating the first sensor in response to a detection by the secondsensor of the vehicle located within a predetermined threshold distancefrom the refueling device.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein thescanning, via the first sensor, identifying characteristics of theoperator of the vehicle includes: scanning a face of the operator of thevehicle; detecting a verbal password spoken by the operator of thevehicle; and receiving a signal from a personal electronic device of theoperator of the vehicle that uniquely identifies the personal electronicdevice of the operator of the vehicle.
 14. The method of claim 11,further comprising: transmitting, via the first sensor and over thenetwork to the computing device, the identifying characteristics of theoperator scanned by the first sensor; querying the electronic database,via the computing device and over the network, to obtain the personalidentification data stored in the electronic database in associationwith customers of the retailer authorized to refuel at the vehiclerefueling station; and authenticating, via the computing device, theoperator scanned by the first sensor in response to a determination bythe computing device that the scanned identifying characteristics of thescanned operator correspond to the personal identification data storedin the electronic database in association with the customer of theretailer authorized to refuel at the vehicle refueling station.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the transmitting the signal, from thecomputing device to the refueling device to activate the refuelingdevice, further comprises: querying the electronic database, via thecomputing device and over the network, to obtain both gasoline gradepreferences predefined by the operator and stored in the electronicdatabase and gasoline grade price stored in the electronic database inassociation with a membership status of the operator; and transmitting asignal, from the computing device to the refueling device to activatethe refueling device to dispense the gasoline grade predefined by theoperator at the grade price associated in the electronic database withthe membership status of the operator.
 16. The method of claim 11,further comprising: receiving a signal from the refueling device overthe network at the computing device, the received signal indicating anamount of gasoline dispensed by the refueling device into the vehicleand an amount of money corresponding to the amount of gasoline dispensedby the refueling device into the vehicle; and transmitting a signal,from the computing device to the electronic database to debit thepayment information of the operator stored in the electronic databasefor the amount of money indicated in the signal received by thecomputing device from the refueling device.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the transmitting a signal, from the computing device to theelectronic database to debit the payment information of the operatorstored in the electronic database for the amount of money indicated inthe signal received by the computing device from the refueling devicefurther comprises: generating a reward credit for the operator for themoney spent by the operator during refueling of the vehicle of theoperator at the vehicle refueling station of the retailer; andtransmitting a signal, from the computing device to the electronicdatabase to store the generated reward credit in the electronic databasein association with the identifying characteristics of the operator. 18.The method of claim 11, further comprising: in response to the query,the computing device receives information indicating that the membershipstatus of the operator is that the operator is not a member with theretailer, transmitting a notification signal from the computing deviceto a personal electronic device of the operator to permit the operatorof the vehicle to purchase a new membership via the personal electronicdevice by paying a membership fee; and in response to a determination bythe control unit that the operator purchased a new membership,permitting the operator to add the payment information of the operatorto cover a refuel of the vehicle of the operator by the refuelingdevice.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising by the at leastone refueling device: removing a cap covering a fuel tank of the vehicleof the operator, moving a nozzle of the at least one refueling deviceinto an opening of the fuel tank; and returning the cap to a positioncovering the fuel tank of the vehicle of the operator.
 20. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising, in response to a determination by thecontrol unit that the refueling device completed refueling the vehicleof the operator, transmitting an electronic notification from thecomputing device to the personal electronic device of the operator theelectronic notification including a receipt for the refueling of thevehicle of the operator.